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Z0REM · 11-19-2019, 12:06 AM

[Draft Media x2, 4600 words]

With this year’s S50 SMJHL draft the Carolina Krakens drafted 6 new individuals. This being the 2nd class drafted into the Krakens impressive depth, the world is ready to be introduced to a new tradition that was started here in North Carolina to help develop and bond the new draftees to the team.

The Abduction

It was still dark outside when the Kraken roster minus the new recruits all gathered at the stadium in Raleigh. The streets were still empty and the clock registered an early 3 AM. The first thing you would notice is that it was pretty cold out here for an early fall day. Temperatures were around 40 degrees and many of the members had shown up in jackets and long sleeves. It was just the previous night that the last of the new draftees had touched down and settled into their North Carolina homesteads. Before today there had not been any training, and everyone was still enjoying the time off after another grueling season. Starting this moment that was all about to change. After Mike Hroch was finally dragged from his food induced coma he had been in since the beginning of the celebration week, the boys all gathered in the parking lot of their great stadium. In the hands of the captain Phineas Gold were three objects for every new recruit. An orange and black shirt, a black headband/mask, and a bottle of kraken rum. There were a couple extra bottles of rum for the team, but for the most part everyone knew that this was going to be mostly for the new recruits just drafted.

Phineas started off by uncapping one bottle and passing it around. Part of this new tradition as that starting from the moment the bottle was opened. There was to be minimal talking from anyone who was not a captain or an alternate. Phineas passed the bottle to each member of the team. After the last person had taken a swing, he poured 3 shots onto the ground.

“These drinks that we do not partake in tonight are for our 3 brethern who have left and moved on to other teams and dreams. For Ravyn, for Herry, and for Kaspars.”

With the last drop poured out, he corked the bottle and gestured to the cans that were nearby. The team knew what to do. This had been discussed in a previous team meeting. What was going to happen right now was that it was time to pick up the new recruits, blindfold them, and get them ready to be official Krakens.

The stops would be in order of draft order. First stop being Velveteen Dream and ending with Reezy Beezy. The cars squealed out of the parking lot after each doing one donut, for dramatic effect, and the team was off to their first stop.

Velveteen Dream’s place was the first stop as stated. The team was not sure what to expect from this pariah of society. They knew that he had a mystery origin about him before he was drafted. Dreamland is a far away land that little is known about. Velveteen is going to be one of new wingers this season before he is asked to play as center once the team restructures next season. We expect good things from our 2OA pick. We made moves just to grab him. He brings a lot of skill as a playmaking forward and should mesh well with our shoot first top 9. The first thing you notice when pulling up to his house is that in the window is a neon light sign that just says “Dreams”. The rest of the apartment looks like it has been barely settled in, but that sign shines brightly. Phineas nods at Michael Fitted. Fitted grabs a t-shirt and a mask and goes up to the door and knock loudly several times. After a few minutes, a sleepy Velveteen answers the door to which Fitted immediately hoods him and drags him to a van. Velveteen is a 6”1 sturdy dude at 225 pounds compared to Fitteds body it seems unlikely that a small guy could drag around this much bigger guy, but the team has come to know that Fitted can do anything he sets his mind to. After a brief struggle because of Velveteen initial confusion, he settles down and we lead him to one of the vans. After we stuff Velveteen into the van he is given the shirt to put on, and the bottle of kraken is thrust into his hands. “Drink and do not let go of this bottle,” was all that was said to him.

The next stop on the abduction was Casimir Blaszczyk. This guy is a 6 ft 4 Defenseman from Poland. He is going to be a staple on our team this year since we lost some stars. One of the guys we drafted are going to have to play in Kaspars slot and Casimir is an offensive forward that will help our team bulldoze our way to another cup. We were a strong offensive team last season and this season will see us trying to keep our shots and introduce a little more physicality to our plays. We pull up to this Polish player’s new apartment. It was time to send in Hans to go grab this Polish motherfucker. The same sequence happens with Hans grabbing a black hood and knocking on the door. Blaszczyk unlike Dream immediately opened the door like he was waiting for something. It’s like he was a little paranoid, but he started to say “What the….” and only got so far before Hans decided to take the defenders approach and just bash Casimir over the head and hooding him. Defensemen…. We will never understand them. We drag Casimir’s body onto the van and wake him up with some smelling salts (yes we were prepared). As soon as Casimir wakes up to a start with a black hood over his head he is given the same command as Velveteen and eventually he settles into the van like his fellow rookie.

Next up was Abhik Patel. He is one of our new right wingers brought in to replace Herry as a tentative 4th line now that Alexander is moving up to third line. Not a lot is known about Abhik as we go to pick him up. He’s a bit of a bigger guy at 6ft 5 and has great sight on the ice combined with a powerful slapper that he likes to release from wherever he can post up. I remember seeing videos of this kid take slapshots from center ice with good enough precision that he could hit the corner of the net pretty accurately. He’s a natural passer, but can score when it comes in clutch. His defensive game is pretty nonexistent at the moment, but nothing we can not polish off in training. It is time to send in Ricky Bobby to go get this guy into the vans. Ricky decides to be a bit innovative and notices that there is a window open on a second floor. After shimmying up a gutter and sneaking in through the window we proceed to hear some crashing and some yelling before Ricky busts through the front door with a dazed Abhik in front of him bagged and tagged. Another bottle of liquor in the hands of a rook and we are halfway there.

Next up was the Brit, Stirling MacTavish. Another left handed center player, and yet another young blood we picked up to keep the teams offensive core strong. If there is one thing that has defined the Krakens as a team is that we want to push forward on that offense. Relying on the strength of our goaltenders allows us to play a little more on that blue line, with all players ready to spring the breakaway when needed. Stirling coming as another playmaker who specializes in passing and face offs will give us that one two punch needed back in our blue to get the puck to our strong forwards. It also helps build our center depth which was quite weak before last season. We roll up to his house and once again we are greeted with a modest home. From what I met of Stirling though is that while he is not one to decorate the outside of his home, the inside was probably already settled in. This time it is myself who has been tasked to go pick up our new center player. 3 knocks and I heard a crash like some glasses are being swiped off a counter. Some shuffling and a, “Who is it?” I knock three more times right in his face. “Dog’s bollocks you fucking slag, go away!” I knock again, louder, and without stopping. “Alright you bonehead I am coming out there!” He opens the door and immediately I grab him and pull him outside and hood the rookie. I am dragging him to the van and he is constantly cursing. I can not wait for him to use this colorful language again our opponents and I have to a stifle quite a few laughs before I get him next to his two teammates. I stuff the bottle in his hands as he just sighs and takes a swig. Good man knows what to do.

Next up is Alyx Sabor. Our hardy left wing coming in from Russia. With a 6ft 2 frame he is about average in our lineup. If anything our new draftees are going to bring up our size just a little bit. Like Abhik, we have another passer and scorer here who is going to help out our breakaway game plans. At this point I realize that I am not sure if people actually followed our games outside of the finals, but our fans know what I am talking about. We spent a good deal of time taking the dump and chase game to the next level and this is the game that we developed. Another guy on the left wing who can spring our powerful forwards. Yes please. It is Bobby Lane’s turn to go recruit. Bobby is a class act and one of our cooler heads on the team. He knocks as efficiently as possible and when Alyx answers the door he gestures towards the mask and lets Alyx put it on himself. We put him next to Abhik and we are off to our last member of our squad.

It takes a little while to go find our last rookie. Last known location was a little off and we had to call the new recruit a few times before we got him to answer to let us know. We pull in front of an apartment complex and find Reezy Beezy standing outside waiting like he told us. It turns out that our 2nd defender is a bit of a ladies man and even though he had been in Carolina for a short period of time he had already settled into his ways. We pull up next to him and have Zbigniew pop out and put the hood on before ushering him into the van next to Abhik and Alyx.

The Journey

Now that we had gotten the whole gang together it was time to take them to our final destination. Unbeknownst to them, we were taking them way out to the central reaches of North Carolina where we would take them up the mountains and spend a few days living in the wilderness to get them accustomed to their new home state and the team that surround them. The trip itself takes about 3-4 hours from Raleigh and is a gorgeous drive at this time of year. Fall is really gorgeous wherever you go in America. But the ride up to the mountains only got colder and more clear. During this time we took breaks and were in no rush, we kept our rookies blindfolded and plied with shots of kraken and tales of our victories. This was the time that the new guys would get to know our full history. Michael Fitted, our historian, was there speaking through ha walkie talkie to the boys detailing our struggles as the Militia and our underdog victory to the top of the league. After our rags to riches story we go right into the foundation of the dynasty that is currently our legacy. We talk about the struggle in each of our rounds in the finals this year that saw us pulling through our first two series. About our rivalries, and the friends we have made and lost along the way.

About halfway we stop by a Mellow Mushroom chain for some pizza and sweet tea. We take orders from everyone including the two larges for Mike Hroch. Our sophomore are enjoying the fact that they did not have to do this bonding last year as it was innovated late in our season to bring the team together. After lunch it was time to unmask our rookies. We were not going to keep them blindfolded for 4 hours after all. With the history of the team behind us, it was time to start the 2-hour sing-along of Sweet Caroline. The song never gets old and the rookies even started to sing along after the initial confusion when we went into our 5 repeated chorus. When we switched to Sweet Terry Guy the vans started rocking it was getting so wild.

With one hour left in our journey, it was time to start winding down and getting the rooks ready for the zen meditation that they would need to pass the next ordeal. It was time for ice breakers and introductions. For brevity sake I will just highlight the one I did about myself:

I am Phineas Gold. Winger/Center for the Carolina Krakens. I have been playing hockey since the moment I could pick up my stick. When I was drafted two seasons ago I had two dreams: Play hockey with my idols and win a cup. I quickly got half of my dream, but the real goal is still out there. If you think I am waiting here with all of you then I got two things to say. I BLEED ORANGE and when you are ready to come challenge me up at the SHL. I have grown to love this team and all of its members. There is not a body here that I would put my life on the line for. If you go down, you better believe that I will be above you fending off the other team. I am your captain, and I hope to lead us to another cup this season.

I can only look around at the faces that are in my own van, but I know that each of these boys is here to fight for another season. We want a cup.

The Arrival

As we get closer to our final destination it starts to become more identifiable as we get nearer. The trees start getting a bit thicker. There are a variety of trees which is what is needed for the next stage of this journey. As we leave behind any trace of civilization and the air grows just cold enough to freeze your balls a tiny bit we have come to the right place. We park the cars on the side of a dirt road, and we all file out. From here it will be a one hour hike in partial gear into the woods where we will reach our final destination. None of this is communicated to our rookies. We motion for them to put on their gear with us. As soon as I am ready I start heading into the woods. Some of the members are not as quick as me and soon learn that I am not stopping or slowing for anyone. Only Bobby Lane, Joseph Weston, and I know our final location and no one wants to be left behind.

At first, the hiking is hard. It is plenty of rocky terrain and the guys are forced to help each other to pass over rivers and tree trunks. Silent communication is still going on so each team member can only communicate with outstretched hands and quick motions. The trail turns unexpectedly many times and it requires an extreme awareness of not just yourself, but your teammates around you. This first bonding test was discovered to help develop connections on and off the ice. I keep looking around so I can see how the team is doing. Players that have played together on our team look to be in sync. Ricky Bobby and Alexei Rykov are right behind me, together we are able to scale rocks and build off each other's strengths and weaknesses like we have been all season. This might be compensating for my weak right leg after a shot block in the finals or Alexei’s strong right arm. To help pull us up after boost him up. In sync as always. As I look around I see different combinations of people helping each other out. Mike Hroch can literally just lift people over obstacles which is good because our style requires our future goalies to support us all. Our defensemen are generally ahead of our forwards and I see them clearing rubble and make the path easier for the fellow teammates. The two new defensemen seem to understand their role and are following Hans and Zbigniew.

It’s about halfway there when I take out my first spin of the retreat, a coconut. I toss the coconut behind me to Ricky Bobby, who passes it to Alexei, and so on and so forth. Now there is a new hurdle. Where is the coconut? Are you about to get passed to? Can you clear the next obstacle and receive the coconut if it comes to you. Before it was just an awareness of the people closest to you, but now I wanted to build awareness of surroundings as well as the team. You can see here that some guys will wait for a player to pass an obstacle before giving them the coconut and others will throw in a reach to make you have to either run or place yourself in an awkward position. Every pass communicates to each team member a little bit about their unique personalities.

We finally arrive at our destination. Having made this ride the weekend before on a boozy camping trip to set up. There are already some tents set up with a fire pit. The first thing the rookies notice are that there are 6 machetes rammed into the earth near the fire pit. This would be their next test, they just did not know it yet.

The Test

“These woods are home to over 20 different varieties of trees.” I said. “Your job is to go into the forest, meditate, pick a tree, and cut down and fashion your own hockey stick. After 2 days the six of you will reconvene here with the rest of the team with your stick in hand, ready to play a game of hockey. You may not speak to each other until you have rejoined us here with your completed stick in hand. Then you may join as one of us.”

The test was a simple idea in its inception. Go find a tree, cut off a branch and whittle it down to a stick. It can look like anything or be anything, but at the end of the day you had to feel comfortable playing a game of hockey on the field with it. Make it too light and it would break. Make it too heavy and you will not last the whole game. Choose a style that complements the way you want to play hockey, and let the team know how you plan on being an asset on the ice.

Each of our rookies grabbed their machetes and went into the woods. While they would be out there meditating and settling on what trees and types of sticks they would make, the rest of the krakens would be back at base camp. Drinking rum and singing songs. As soon as the last rookie disappears into the woods it was time to break out the marshmallows, the chocolate, the chicken, and everything else we had lugged up here to make a grand ol’ camping excursion. We had paid the ounce of hell to make it onto the team so for those that passed the test, this was a party to unwind and celebrate one last time before the season started up. This was where we could all get together and talk about our stories of the offseason and what we all did with the cup. We were up late into the night drinking, laughing, and crying.

We did not stop when the first rookie came back to go to sleep. Surprisingly it was Velveteen Dream, and He came back without a stick which was alright. We told the guys that they would not be expected to sleep in the woods overnight. They had to take care of themselves. Even though Velveteen came back, we could all see that it was not out of frustration, he must have made good progress on his stick. I think what surprised us more was that he was the only one to return that night. The others stayed out all night.

We later heard about one of the experiences had by a rookie on the team:

Stirling MacTavish had a wild night. He told us about his initial setting off into the forest. He was not sure which direction he wanted to go. He was used to his vision on the ice letting him have direction and poise that let him direct others as he used his playmaking skills, but this was the first time that he was told that he had to find a direction without another person by his side. His first instinct was to try and team up with another one of the rookies. Abhik seemed like a good choice for this as the American winger was a natural scorer and would be a good partner for the British MacTavish. He headed over to Abhik and gestured that they go together. Abhik considered it a moment before nodding his head and the two went off in search of good spots. They knew eventually they would have to separate, but together they might be able to get to areas they could not have otherwise. After a medium walk and a quick scaling of some boulders, they came to a fork in the path. It was time for them to split. Stirling went to the right and walked up a mountain path. As he got further and further he noticed that the trees started to become rarer to find in this harsh climate. He kept on going higher even though a part of him said to turn back. When he was just about to reach the crest of the swell he was on, he notices just it a tall tree striding atop the mountainous region he was hiking on. It was this tree that drew young Stirling to its embrace. This tree was strong and tall, and its roots were visible and outstretched. Wherever the mountain was in its way, it pushed itself through so it could survive. What did this mean to the young rookie? He sat at the base of the tree and thought about hockey, his home country, and the Krakens. What could he learn from the tree? The first bough he cut down was from high up on the tree. Before he even got a chance to whittle away, the branch would bend and whip. It was not the kind of stick he would want to play with. Thinking that maybe he wanted to try on the other side he looked at the strong lower branches but found that their weight was too much to support. He needed to find a middle branch of this tree that was light but would not bend. That would allow him to use it to hike, defend, and pass a puck. It was actually just below the top branches where he found his branch after being up all night sleeping in the knotted undergrowth. He remembered that Phineas did not say anything about a conventional stick. So what would his look like? This branch had a natural hook on one end and a splayed tip that looked like it could form a double-bladed hockey stick. Upon further revelation Sitrling decided to take the natural form of the stick and give it a go. For the next few hours, he whittles away at the bark and the trunk to make the stick a little smaller. Before he knew it the sun was past its halfway point and Stirling was done with his stick. He started the trek back to basecamp, barely remembering the twists he marked with Abhik on their initial trek out. He arrived back at camp to find that he was not the first rookie back nor the last, and those that had returned had fashioned sticks just as unique as his own.

The Game

After the last rookie returned the second night was already fast upon the Kraken. It was time to bring out another few bottles and celebrate with the new rookies. As each rookie detailed the story of how they found and created their sticks, the brotherhood of Krakens listened with rapt attention. As each rookie described what their stick meant to them and their style of play, they were all taking notes. Between each story was a round of shots, and between each round of shots was another round of shots. The team was so drunk that by the time Rookie Beezy got up to deliver his closing remarks on his stick, the whole team could barely sit upright! This did not stop anyone from trying though and they made it through.

Phineas told the team that it was time to quiet down and get some sleep because they would play The Game tomorrow morning before heading back through the forest to their vans and back to Raleigh. The bonding camp was coming to its last day.

Early in the morning, everyone was awake and little groggy. The Krakens all grabbed their sticks, yes this included the rookies, and the great game was underfoot. The team was split into 4 teams comprised of 2 defensemen and 3 wingers each. The goalies were placed in two goals on opposite sides of the turf. The game was kind of the hill style game where if one team scored they stayed on and one of the other teams switched in for the defeated teams. This was meant to teach the new rookies ones thing. If the going gets tough, get tougher. If you feel like you are going to break, break the other team. If you can not go on another step, move your feet for someone else. The strong are going to get tired eventually and that is ok as long as you are proud of the game you played.

For the next four hours the teams played a constantly and at the end of their time together everyone was exhausted but happy that they were there. The Krakens had bonded and were ready to take on the league again. After packing up camp, the flight back to the vans seemed much easier than the original walk to it. Maybe because Phineas took them on the direct route, maybe because the team had grown by 6 full-fledged members. Either way, the determination in the hearts of all the krakens was soaring. It is time to win another cup!

[Image: seamsu_500.png?ex=66b438d3&is=66b2e753&h...96a382d50&]

Credit to Vulfzilla for the awesome render pic

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